Medway School Committee reviews policies, procedures

Thursday

Jul 24, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Zachary ComeauDaily News Staff

MEDWAY - More than a month after the state Attorney General’s office ruled the School Committee violated the Open Meeting Law, the committee held a workshop Tuesday to discuss policies, procedures, protocols and ethics.

On June 16, the Attorney General’s office said the school committee violated the state's Open Meeting Law by failing to properly detail an agenda topic in the committee’s meeting minutes.

The ruling stated that the nearly two-hour discussion was not sufficiently detailed in the one sentence included in the minutes: "Committee members and members of the leadership team discussed updates on school improvement plans, new initiatives and budget priorities."

The minutes also failed to mention a Power Point presentation by Superintendent Judith Evans, which, according to Open Meeting Law, should have been included in the minutes, along with any documents presented.

Chairwoman Diane Borgatti, who did not chair the committee at the time of the violation, said the board did not specifically discuss the violation Tuesday, but did discuss the agenda-setting process.

"We do consider the fact that we were in violation of the Open Meeting Law," she said. "We do want to make sure that we have correct procedures and protocols in place."

Borgatti, who is in the second year of her third term on the committee, said the violation is the first she can recall.

A policy subcommittee of Cindy Sullivan and Dawn Rice Norton is charged with revising policies and procedures that the committee indentified Tuesday as needing updates, including ethics, superintendent-school committee relations and meeting protocols, Borgatti said.

Although the committee did not discuss meeting minutes, Borgatti said the workshop is not finished.

"I tend to think (the committee’s) minutes are accurate," she added, but added the committee can still improve its compliance with the law.

"We don’t want anything to stand in the way of having perfect compliance (of the Open Meeting Law)," she said. "Definitely as we drill down and talk about protocols, we will be keeping that in mind."

Zachary Comeau can be reached at 508-634-7556 and zcomeau@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZComeau_MDN.